MUSLIM_002_MJM.jpg
Abdou Nasser Ali of SF attended the prayer service at the Islamic Society of San Francisco.
We talk to local Muslims about the cartoon controversy in Europe. Several newspapers there have run a caricature ofthe Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. Protests there have been violent.
Event in San Francisco, CA
Photo by Michael Maloney / The San Francisco Chronicle MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/ -MAGS OUT

Photo: Michael Maloney

MUSLIM_002_MJM.jpg
Abdou Nasser Ali of SF attended the prayer...

Bay Area Muslims urge restraint / They say reaction to insulting images should be peaceful

Bay Area Muslims expressed disappointment and anger Friday over Danish newspaper cartoons that featured negative images of the Prophet Muhammad, but vowed to remain peaceful despite hostile protests in other parts of the world.

"I don't want to make the mistake of overreacting to other people's disrespect and give it a life that it doesn't deserve," said Abu Quadir al-Amin, the imam of the San Francisco Muslim Community Center. "Our religion discourages people from belittling other people's beliefs or religion or making fun of other human beings."

Muslims in Europe and the Middle East have reacted angrily to the cartoons, with crowds reportedly burning Danish flags, pulling dairy products made in Denmark off store shelves and threatening violence.

The caricatures, which first ran in a major Danish newspaper in September, were reprinted in other European papers this week. The most offensive, Muslims say, is a drawing of the prophet with a turban containing a bomb with a lit fuse.

Not only do the images promote negative stereotypes, Muslims say, but they violate an Islamic prohibition against visual depictions of Muhammad.

The turban-bomb cartoon "showed a total lack of sensitivity and disrespect for the limits of free speech," Ghali said.

Abdou Nasser, a merchant seaman who lives in San Francisco, was one of about 300 men who gathered for services at the mosque on Jones Street Friday, the day of congregational prayer for Islam. He said that apart from boycotting Danish products, he did not have plans to express his dismay.

"I think the Muslims should be protesting in Denmark, not in their own countries," Nasser said. "That's not going to help."

The Council on American- Islamic Relations sent an e-mail alert to mosques across the country Friday encouraging imams to emphasize to worshipers that Muhammad responded to personal attacks with love and forgiveness.

Sheikh Hasan Al-Haj, who led the service at the Islamic Society of San Francisco, urged those gathered to be strong and remain calm.

"When it comes to some people, they feel hatred is the most important thing," Al-Haj said. "This is a sign of defeated people."

At the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, Hasan Tariq said he understood that many Americans might not understand Islamic culture. But it doesn't take much sensitivity, he said, to grasp why Muslims would be offended by a depiction of Muhammad as a bomber.

"It was trying to relate the whole religion with terrorism," Tariq said. "If they had done that with Jesus, I would have been offended."

Souheila Al-Jadda of San Jose said she was not as upset with the Danish newspaper as with other publications that reprinted the caricatures.

"The republishing of it really shows malicious intent by the newspapers in European countries," she said. "I think that in Europe in particular, Muslims have become a minority (that) is looked down upon."

She said there are sensitive ways to handle depictions of Muhammad. A frieze at the U.S. Supreme Court includes the prophet, for example, but the court takes pains to note in tourist materials that "the figure is a well-intentioned attempt by the sculptor to honor Muhammad, and it bears no resemblance to Muhammad."

"There are ways to do things decently," Al-Jadda said, "and there are ways to do things indecently."

Wahid Umerani of Cupertino said he appreciated freedom of expression, and said Muslims need to understand that not all people will honor their preferences. But he did find some of the caricatures patently offensive.

"There are sick people out there," Umerani said. "That's all I can say."

Dozens of people called the Danish Embassy in Washington, both in support of the cartoons and against them, said Lene Balleby, a spokeswoman.

"We are referring everyone to our official Web site, where they can read the prime minister's statement and learn about everything that has happened," she said.

In an interview published on the site, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Danish people had no intention of offending Muslims.

Sameena Usman, outreach coordinator for the Northern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said her office also had received a number of calls.

"We are going to see what we can do about it," Usman said. "We are still discussing it, and I can't say anything at this point."